Felix Frankfurter Appointed to U.S. Supreme Court

Timeline of History

Felix Frankfurter is appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court. While on the court as an associate justice, Frankfurter will become a staunch advocate of judicial restraint, the idea that the Supreme Court should not go too far in limiting the power of either the executive or the legislative branches of government.

Felix Frankfurter also avoids imposing the restrictions of the federal Constitution on state or local governments. In the 1940 case Minersville School District v. Gobitis, for example, he argued that student First Amendment rights should not be protected by the law.

Frankfurter specifically and deliberately avoids decisions that might be unpopular, fearing that the authority of the court will become eroded otherwise.